Author: revpaulcalkin

Offering genuine gratitude comes from a willingness to take account for all you have been given and to understand that none of it was guaranteed. – Day Schildkret from Grateful.org Word Of The Day

Peace Be With You. – Paul

Here are the Prayers Of The People from Mayfair Heights – October 12, 2025

Prayers Of The People

Gracious God, Creator of all that is, we lift our prayers to you.

We pray:

For all who have sustained losses of homes, of income, of beloved persons,

For all who have traveled great journeys,

For all who wait for good news,

For all who continue to struggle with all that has happened in their lives,

God, in your love,

Hear our prayers.

We pray:

For all who live in places of unrest and violence,

For all who seek to make things better for everyone in those places,

For all who are having to make choices based on the behaviors of others,

For all who continually worry about the future,

God, in your love,

Hear our prayers.

We pray:

For all who seek places of rest,

For all who are tired all the time,

For all who are in great pain,

For all who long for peace – in their lives and in this world,

For all who remain hopeful,

God, in your love,

Hear our prayers.

We pray:

For all who need their circumstances to be different,

For all who work to change the present and the future,

For all who just “need a moment.”

For all.

God, in your love, 

Hear our prayers.  Amen.

Peace Be With You. – Paul

“On Fear” by Kahlil Gibran

It is said that before entering the sea

a river trembles with fear. 

She looks back at the path she has traveled,

from the peaks of the mountains, 

the long winding road crossing forests and villages.

And in front of her,

she sees an ocean so vast,

that to enter there seems

nothing more than to disappear forever.

But there is no other way.

The river cannot go back.

Nobody can go back.

To go back is impossible in existence.

The river needs to take the risk

of entering the ocean

because only then will fear disappear,

because that’s where the river will know

it’s not about disappearing into the ocean,

but of becoming the ocean. 

• Kahlil Gibran

Peace Be With You. – Paul

“When eating fruit, remember the one who planted the tree.”~ Vietnamese Proverb

Peace Be With You. – Paul

From Rev. Beau Stringer:

Love is stronger than death. 

That’s not just theology. 

It’s the heartbeat of the universe 

and the hope we’re anchored in.

Peace Be With You. – Paul

From Poetry Matters (@PoetryMatters)

You would be surprised how many times a persons just sits for a minute and thinks “I just can’t do this anymore,” then takes a deep breath, wipes their face and goes back to doing whatever it was that felt too much to handle.  

Peace Be With You. – Paul

Here are the Prayers Of The People from Sunday, October 5, 2025. 

Mayfair Heights United Methodist Church.

Prayers Of The People

Gracious God, Creator of all that is, we lift our prayers to you.

We pray:

For those who have lost faith in our leaders,

For those who lead,

May we all learn to shift our thoughts to the greater good, 

For the benefit of all humankind,  for all creation.

God, in your love, 

Hear our prayers.

We pray:

For all who make mistakes, who fail even when they try hard,

For all who seek to follow God, and for those who haven’t quite figured it out yet,

For all who seek to live in unity and in peace with others,

For all who hope and work for better lives.

God, in your love, 

Hear our prayers.

We pray:

For all who wander and are lost, and for those who have found their place,

For all who seek to understand others, and for those who choose not to understand,

For all who look for grace, for all who seek to affirm others,

For all who continually expand their vision of life.

God, in your love, 

Hear our prayers.

We pray:

For us as we seek to accept and celebrate our differences,

For us as we seek to open our hearts, our minds, our lives,

To see ourselves as you see us, O God,

God, in your love, 

Hear our prayers.

We pray:

For all people of faith on this day of unity, 

May we hear once more your voice of challenge and of love,

May we walk in your strength, 

May we walk in your peace,

God, in your love, 

Hear our prayers.  Amen.

Peace Be With You. – Paul

Looking toward World Communion Sunday this Sunday.

This is from author / artist Jan Richardson.

AND THE TABLE WILL BE WIDE

And the table

will be wide.

And the welcome

will be wide.

And the arms

will open wide

to gather us in.

And our hearts

will open wide

to receive.

And we will come

as children who trust

there is enough.

And we will come

unhindered and free.

And our aching

will be met

with bread.

And our sorrow

will be met

with wine.

And we will open our hands

to the feast

without shame.

And we will turn

toward each other

without fear.

And we will give up

our appetite

for despair.

And we will taste

and know

of delight.

And we will become bread

for a hungering world.

And we will become drink

for those who thirst.

And the blessed

will become the blessing.

And everywhere

will be the feast.

—Jan Richardson

from a forthcoming book

Peace Be With You. – Paul

“Do your little bit of good where you are;

it’s those little bits of good put together 

that overwhelm the world.” 

• Desmond Tutu

Peace Be With You. – Paul

From Rev. Maren Tirabassi:

A Biblical Response in the United States

May the cities of our nation

be a training ground 

for loving our neighbors as ourselves.

May the cities of our nation

be a training ground

for welcoming the immigrant of today,

as were welcomed those of the past.

May the cities of our nation

be a training ground

for giving food to the hungry,

to the thirsty giving something to drink,

and to the naked clothes.

May the cities of our nation

be a training ground 

for medical treatment for everyone, 

and changing the prison system

May the cities of our nation

be a training ground

where everyone will learn

how to make gun violence no more,

that the mourning of families 

and crying and pain be no more.

(Mark 12, Leviticus 19, Exodus 23, Matthew 25, Revelation 21)

Peace Be With You. – Paul